


Change

by BrianJustin4Ever



Series: Based on Taylor Swift songs [11]
Category: Glee
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-29
Updated: 2014-05-29
Packaged: 2018-01-26 23:57:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,095
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1707275
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BrianJustin4Ever/pseuds/BrianJustin4Ever
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Season 3. Finn breaks up with Rachel for Quinn, and Rachel decides it's time to break the cycle.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Change

**Author's Note:**

> **Lyrics Used:** And it's a sad picture, the final blow hits you  
> Somebody else gets what you wanted again  
> You know it's all the same, another time and place  
> Repeating history and you're getting sick of it

Rachel feels her heart break. She has trouble making out the words coming from his mouth, but she catches "Quinn" and "love," and Rachel suddenly understands what's happening.

Finn's choosing Quinn over her. Again. The blonde cheerleader always gets what Rachel wants, so there's no surprise. There's simply heartbreak that once again Finn has changed his mind about who he wants.

Rachel clenches her first as the two of them kiss right in front of her. Neither care about what it does to her, and Rachel has to wonder if Finn ever cared about her, even a little bit. If he did, he wouldn't immediately swallow Quinn's tongue in front of her after breaking her heart.

She's pulled away from the scene by gentle hands and it takes her a couple of minutes before she realizes it's Noah. He's silent as he leads her to the empty auditorium. It's her safe haven, and he knows it. He stays silent and watches her.

She knows what he's waiting for, but she's going to crush his delusion. "I'm not going to break down. Not this time."

Noah raises his eyebrows, and she easily reads the question in his eyes. "This is repeated history. Frankly, I should have known better. Finn has always wavered between Quinn and me. He only seems to want me when I no longer want him."

"Then why did you go back to him?" Noah asks.

That's the million dollar question. She looks up from her hands which are resting on her lap to meet Noah's eyes. "I truly don't know. Maybe because he's safe. I know what to expect from him. Part of me was sure he was finally positive about what he wanted, but I think the other part of me knew this was going to happen. It hurts, but I don't feel like the wind has been knocked out of me, and I think that non-feeling comes from expecting it."

"Well, you still have verbal diarrhea. That's a good sign. I get scared when you're quiet."

Rachel softly smiles. "I'm glad you're reassured.

"You know I'm here for you, right?"

Rachel nods. "That's one thing I have never doubted. Not since we dated in tenth grade. Even after you said we weren't friends, you continued to look out for me."

After that, Rachel spends most of her time with Noah. He is a comforting presence, and he always knows when not to ask questions or when to simply hold her. She ignores Finn's glare upon seeing the two of them together.

Finn truly is an immature child. He doesn't want her, but he hates her spending time with Noah, and she now knows why.

She might have hid her feelings from herself for who even knows how long, but she can't any longer due to the two of them spending so much time together. She likes Noah, as in, more than a friend. And she has no idea what to do about it.

She's afraid of coming clean about it because she doesn't want to destroy their easy relationship. On the other hand, it could make their relationship stronger in the best of ways.

Finally, when posters for prom start appearing, she works up the courage. She finds him getting his math textbook out of his locker. With her encouragement, he's going to classes and actually does pretty well. "Hey," she says as she leans against the locker that's next to his.

"What's up, Rach?"

She twirls a strand of her long hair as she tries to remember the speech that she's suddenly blanking on.

Noah closes his locker. "What's wrong?"

"What do you mean?" she asks.

"You only twirl her hair when you're nervous, so what's wrong and do I have to kick anyone's ass."

"Nothing's wrong. I just need to ask you something, and no to the ass kicking." Her saying 'ass' doesn't even faze her anymore, which goes to show how negative of an influence Noah has been on her usually pristine vocabulary.

Noah nods. "So, what do you have to ask me? You can ask me anything. There are not many things I'll say 'no' to if you're the one who's doing the asking."

Rachel takes a deep breath. "I'm counting on that. So, um..." She tries to meet his eyes, but instead she looks at point behind him. She knows he's probably aware of that, but she's thankful he's not calling her out on it. "So, will you go to the prom with me?"

She finally meets his eyes. There's an emotion there. She thinks it might be hope, but she's afraid that she's misreading it.

"As friends?"

Rachel minutely shakes her head. "I would like you to be my date, and hopefully my boyfriend by the end of the night."

"I can do you better than that. I can be your boyfriend now and take my girlfriend to the prom."

"Really?" Rachel asks.

"You have no idea how much I wanted to ask you out. I didn't know if you were ready, though."

"I'm definitely ready."

When Noah takes her into his arms and holds her close, it feels right. When he kisses her, she sees fireworks beneath her eyelids. She ignores the catcalls – they are probably coming solely from the glee kids – and just revels in the moment of finally having Noah's lips on her own.

When they pull away, both breathing heavily, Santana comes and stands before the two of them. Rachel stiffens, wondering if Santana is about to pull her hair out of her scalp. She might have finally accepted her sexuality, but she still seems possessive of Noah.

Noah must sense her sudden tension because he's softly rubbing small circles on her back.

Rachel cringes and waits for the inevitable. She's floored when Santana smugly smiles. "It's about damn time. Mercedes owes me 20 bucks."

"Twenty bucks, Santana?" Noah calls out as she turns away.

"She thought you'd guys be together within a month of the Finchel breakup. I told her it would take until the prom posters started appearing before you two got your act together." She walked away.

Noah and Rachel look at each other. He brushes her hair out of her face and leans down to plant a gentle, lingering kiss. "Come on, I'll walk you to class," he whispers against Rachel's lips.

Rachel nods and smiles when Noah pulls her close, holding her securely at his side. For the first time in a long time, she feels completely at ease. This must be what happiness feels like.


End file.
